Ranking every relevant Blue Jays offseason signing (so far)

3. Yariel Rodríguez

After missing out on the biggest prize of the offseason in Shohei Ohtani, the Jays received a nice consolation prize when they beat out a few other teams to acquire the services of Cuban star pitcher Yariel Rodríguez. With the Jays in need of pitching depth for both their starting pitching and the bullpen heading into 2024, Rodríguez could provide the solution to both as he has previously established a solid track record as both a starter and a reliever in his eight-year professional baseball career.

In total, Rodríguez has registered a 48-38 record, along with a 3.06 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, giving up just 35 total home runs and striking out 645 batters in 731.1 total innings over 195 games (76 starts). More importantly, he put together the best season of his career the very last time he pitched in 2022. That year, he went 6-2 with an impressive 1.15 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, giving up just 7 earned runs all year, along with 18 walks and 60 strikeouts in just 54.2 innings pitched with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan Central League.

However, what prevents Rodríguez from being ranked higher on this list is the fact that he hadn’t pitched since that 2022 season, as he spent all of 2023 in preparation for his move to North America to pursue a career in the MLB. As a result, he will likely need some time to get up to speed, as he recently even indicated that his arm is only at 75% heading into spring training. The faster he is able to get into game shape, the better the chance he can regain his dominant form shown in the foreign leagues that he played in. Also, how well he can translate his game to the MLB level will also determine if the Jays made the right move in the end. Nevertheless, Rodríguez will be given all the time and opportunity to succeed.